Anthony's Addiction (Ianthony)
by smoshersnorlax
Summary: When Ian starts noticing something strange about his best friend, he starts to investigate. Who knows what this will lead to?
1. Initial Suspicion

**A/N: New story. I hope you like the first chapter :)**

Recently, Ian had been noticing something strange about Anthony. Over the past few weeks he had seemed way more tired than usual, not just the occasional yawn, but properly falling asleep during shoots. It was starting to worry him.

He walked over to the room where Anthony was editing a video. "Anthony, you should go to bed now. You can always finish this off tomorrow."

"But I need to do this now!" Anthony protested. One of the things about him was that if there was a task that needed to be done, he wouldn't focus on anything else until it was completed.

"Fine then," Ian relented, since it was only ten thirty. Technically it wasn't that late yet. "But I'm coming back in half an hour."

"Whatever," Anthony grunted in annoyance and returned his attention to the computer screen. He sighed when he heard Ian close the door behind him and continued adding the finishing touches.

Half an hour's worth of monotonous clicking had passed when Ian returned to the room.

"You ready?" Ian asked him.

"I'm all done," Anthony said, with a sense of satisfaction. It was always such a relief when he finally finished editing a video, although normally it only took about four or five hours to edit a Lunchtime With Smosh video anyway. That was nothing compared to how long it took to edit videos for their main channel.

He turned off the computer and the lights and followed Ian out of the Smosh office. Anthony was just about to go into his room before Ian said to him "Have a good night Anthony."

"You too," he replied.

"I mean it," Ian gave him a serious look. "Get some sleep."

"Okay," Anthony nodded his head slowly and went into his room. He couldn't help pondering over what Ian had just said, and the way he said it. He almost sounded like a protective parent or something.

"Is he onto me?" he whispered to himself. Then he shook his head at the thought. There was no way that Ian could have known about what was going on.


	2. In The Morning

**A/N: Sorry if it's too short I just wanted to upload something.**

Anthony walked around the strange village, surrounded by multiple trees and strange houses. Some trees had cherries growing on them whilst others had pears. It was unlike any place he had ever been to before and it was amazing. He had a sense of freedom that he had never experienced before; he was actually in control. He felt someone place a hand on his shoulder and immediately looked round, only to find that no one was there. Almost as soon as this happened, he heard someone faintly calling his name.

"Hello?" he called out. The only answer he received was his own voice echoing back at him.

"Anthony wake up," he heard the voice again but more clearly this time. It sounded very familiar but he couldn't quite place it.

"Leave me alone!" Anthony yelled, surprising himself by the loudness of his voice. The trees around him slowly started fading until he could feel someone shaking him. Groaning softly, he cracked open his eyes to find Ian by his side.

"Dammit Anthony, I thought I was gonna have to pour cold water on you," Ian laughed.

"What are you talking about?" Anthony sat up slowly, still disorientated from his dream.

"I've been trying to wake you up for the past ten minutes now," Ian answered him. "Are you okay? You started yelling randomly in your sleep and it was kind of freaky."

"I'm fine it was just a dream," Anthony said. "I must have been hearing your voice when I was in the dream and it was kind of scary."

"Oh I get what you mean," Ian replied. "So what were you dreaming about?"

"I can't really remember that much," Anthony said truthfully. "It felt so trippy and not much actually happened."

"Well anyway, you need to get up now. We have a busy day ahead of us," Ian reminded him.

"Five more minutes," Anthony mumbled and pulled the bedcovers over his face.

"No way," Ian countered and pulled the covers back.

"Please?" Anthony begged him and desperately tried to bury himself in the warm sheets.

"You're getting out of bed now, even if I have to drag you out myself," Ian replied. He knew what Anthony was like- five minutes would turn into five hours.

"Is that a promise?" Anthony asked with a hint of mischief to his voice. He didn't even time to yell in surprise when Ian pulled on his arm and caused him to crash to the floor.

"Yes, I promise," Ian smirked.

"Asshole," Anthony grumbled as he rubbed the pain on his side. He had hit the floor pretty hard.

"You asked for it," Ian pointed out.

"I'm so fucking grateful," Anthony replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He disentangled himself from the sheets and dumped them back on his bed.

"I'm presuming you want me to make you breakfast now," Ian joked as they walked to the kitchen together.

"Of course I do," Anthony joked back. "That's the only reason I still live with you."

"Yeah yeah," Ian flipped him off.

Their normal banter continued as they ate breakfast together but Anthony's mind was elsewhere. Even though he had brushed it aside before, he couldn't help thinking about what Ian had said last night. It was as if he had known about what was going on but he didn't want to bring it up directly. To Anthony, it wasn't really a problem. He could stop if he wanted to; he could give it up completely if he tried. That's what he told himself anyway. Maybe he was just overthinking everything. Ian has his own problems to deal with even if they are best friends. Why would he care about something so insignificant anyway?

"Anthony, what's wrong?" Ian asked him after noticing how quiet he had become.

"Nothing," Anthony replied. "Why would think that something is wrong?"

"You've hardly eaten anything," Ian said whilst pointing to Anthony's barely touched plate of food.

"Oh," Anthony said quietly. "I guess I'm not hungry anymore."

"Anthony," Ian sighed.

"Seriously Ian I'm fine," Anthony stood up to empty his plate. "It wouldn't even matter to you anyway."

"What makes you think that I wouldn't care?" Ian demanded as he followed Anthony out of the room.

"Just forget I ever said anything," was all that Anthony could say before closing his bedroom door behind him. Ian sighed in frustration before walking away in the opposite direction. Clearly Anthony wanted his own space.


	3. Coming Out Of The Closet

**A/N: I know it's been a while and I'm sorry! Better late than never though, right?**

Ian was relieved when Anthony eventually emerged from his room but he then sighed as he saw his stony faced expression. Apparently Anthony's mood hadn't improved much since breakfast. He seemed preoccupied as he sat down on the couch and flipped open his 3DS.

"Anthony, are you okay?" Ian asked nervously. He didn't want Anthony to be angry with him but he couldn't help checking on his well-being.

"Isabelle is being a bitch," Anthony muttered, far too distracted by Animal Crossing.

"Okay…" Ian didn't even bother acting like he understood what Anthony was talking about.

"I want to put a bench by my pond but she keeps saying that there's not enough room for it," Anthony continued, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration. "Fucking bitch."

Ian didn't mask his surprise at how a simple game like Animal Crossing had managed to aggravate Anthony so much. "Dude, it's just a game. Calm down."

"Well she's a female dog so technically she is a bitch," Anthony said, not averting his eyes from the small screen.

Ian held his hands up in resignation. "We are not having this conversation anymore," Ian said as he shook his head. He hadn't seen Anthony into a game this much for _years_.

-x-

It hadn't been a particularly long day of filming but everyone was exhausted. Luckily, they only needed to shoot one last scene until the video was complete so they were determined to keep going. It wasn't even that late into the night compared to other filming days where they barely got any sleep at all.

"I just need to pee. I'll be back in a sec," Anthony whispered to Ian who was busy discussing directions with some crew members. Ian nodded his head to show that he'd heard but didn't divert his attention away from the conversation.

Minutes passed and eventually Ian realised that Anthony had been gone for way too long. Everyone else was ready to start the next scene but Anthony was nowhere to be found.

"Ian, where's Anthony? We really need him so we can get this done and go home," someone asked him.

Ian sighed with frustration and made a mental note to slap Anthony later. Knowing him he had probably fallen asleep somewhere; it happened more often than you would think. "I'll go look for him."

There weren't really that many places he could be seeing as their house was pretty small. The first place he checked was the bathroom which was unsurprisingly empty. Shaking his head, Ian proceeded to check the bedrooms as well as the "Smosh Office".

"Anthony, where the fuck are you?" Ian called out, ignoring the amused looks from some of the crew members. He heard no response but he did, however, hear some movement coming from the closet. It was so typical of Anthony to be in there that Ian smiled to himself as he opened the door. He couldn't help raising his eyebrows when he saw Anthony hunched over in the dark, his face lit up by the glow of the 3DS screen.

"Shut the door. You're letting light in," Anthony said.

Ian groaned out loud but did as he was told. "Anthony, you need to stop acting like a five year old and finish the goddamn shoot," he said through gritted teeth.

"Language!" Anthony said with a mock gasp and finally looked up to stare in Ian's general direction. "What's your problem?"

Anthony could be extremely annoying when he wanted to and unfortunately for Ian, this was one of those times. Losing his temper would only make the situation worse so he clenched and unclenched his first and forced himself to think happy thoughts before speaking. "This has to stop now. You can play your games later but right now we've got jobs to do."

"When did you become so serious?" Anthony smirked, annoying Ian just that little bit more.

"Stop it," Ian warned him.

Anthony rolled his eyes and stood up from the upturned box he was sitting on, setting his 3DS down as he did so. "Whatever Ian."

"Good," Ian said and reached for the handle. He pushed the door but it wouldn't give way at all. He pushed even harder, grunting with the effort but with no luck. "The door's jammed."

Anthony laughed slightly at the panic in Ian's voice. "Turn on the light," he said, not bothering to hide the smirk on his face seeing as it was almost pitch black in there anyway.

Ian fumbled along the wall, trying to feel for the switch but he couldn't find it anywhere. "I don't know where it is," he sighed.

"Move over," Anthony ordered as he blindly waded through the junk around them to stand where Ian was. His eyes had already adjusted to the darkness and so he could just about make out Ian's outline.

"Ow, you're stepping on my foot!" Ian exclaimed, pushing Anthony away so that the pressure would be off his foot.

"Sorry," Anthony quickly apologised and awkwardly shuffled back a few steps. Silence suddenly fell over them and after a few seconds, they suddenly burst out laughing.

"This is ridiculous," Ian said as the tension in the air disappeared.

Anthony eventually managed to find the switch and flicked it on. Squinting at the sudden brightness in the room, he found himself grinning at Ian. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Ian frowned and looked away. "We're still stuck in here," he mumbled.

"The door usually gets stuck. You just need to twist the handle a little more," Anthony explained and demonstrated what he was talking about. Much to Ian's relief, the door swung open and he was able to escape from the confined space.

"Phew!" Ian exhaled. After his initial joy at no longer being trapped, he turned to face Anthony with a stern expression on his face. "You know we're gonna have to talk about this later." Anthony ran a hand through his hair and said nothing as he followed Ian out into the living room.

"Now that you two are done making out, can we get on with this scene?" Ryan asked with a teasing smirk.

"Hey, it's not my fault Anthony disappeared on us," Ian protested, shooting an accusing glance at Anthony.

Ryan chuckled. "Well, all I know is that you two disappeared for ages and came out looking pretty flustered," he got way too much fun out of winding them up like that.

"Whatever man," Anthony laughed. He knew that saying anything in defence would only encourage him even more.

-x-

It took a while to get all the equipment packed up and everyone out of the house but as soon as that was done, Anthony tried to sneak off to his room. However, Ian didn't fail to notice this. "Not so fast," he said, causing Anthony to sigh and then turn around.

"What do you want?" he groaned.

"Give it to me," Ian walked up to him and held out his hand expectantly.

Anthony muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "fuck you" but handed the 3DS over anyway. "Why are you treating me like a child?"

"Because you're acting like one," Ian answered, smiling inwardly at the prominent scowl on Anthony's face. "It's for your own good. You'll thank me later."

"I will as soon as hell freezes over," Anthony retorted and span on his heel to make his way to his room, taking extra care to slam the door shut. As soon as Anthony was out of earshot, Ian let out a quiet laugh. Anthony could never stay mad at him for long and always acted embarrassed when Ian reminded him of his previous sulking. Little things like that always entertained him.

After brushing his teeth and stripping down to his boxers, Anthony laid back on his bed, fully awake. Everything felt wrong: the strip of light at the bottom his door coming from the hallway, the way the bed covers were restricting him and the fact that he couldn't get his mind to slow down. Usually he would clear his head by playing a game or something but obviously that was out of the question at this point in time. Sighing loudly, he turned on his side once again, allowing most of the covers to slide onto the floor. He was too lazy to pull them back up. Once again he was overthinking everything. He dreaded nights like this, when the overwhelming silence weighed down on him and his thoughts constantly attacked him brain. Despite the fact that his best friend was just in the next room, he felt so alone. Never being able to unload his worries onto someone, never being able to say that he was tired of living this way, it was wearing him out. There were only so many distractions that he could think of, only so many fake smiles and laughs that he could muster before he broke down. It terrified him every time he thought about it. He knew that the voice inside his head was right, he can only live like this for so long before it's game over.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There's lots of good stuff to come soon and I'm pretty excited about it :)**


	4. Breaking Point

**A/N: I've been trying to get out of the habit of writing short chapters so here you go.**

Anthony got up slightly earlier than usual, hoping to quickly dart into the kitchen for some food and then hide in his room. He wasn't mad at Ian or anything, despite how irritating and slightly smothering he was being. It was mainly the fact that he didn't want to talk about what happened the previous night in the closet. To anyone else it wouldn't be a major issue but the more Anthony thought about it, the more he wished he could press the rewind button. All that stood out to him in his memory was how their chests had been pressed against each other, the way his heart had been thumping…he was treading on dangerous ground. What happened had been completely normal, well, except for when he thought Ian was going to have the pry the 3DS from his hands. He would have liked to see him try. Anthony couldn't help smiling in spite of himself; he knew he was being ridiculous.

"Why are you so happy, Mr Grumpy Pants?" Ian looked amused as he walked past. Anthony had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even hear Ian enter the kitchen and immediately looked down at his Lucky Charms, his cheeks reddening.

He swallowed a mouthful of cereal and looked up at Ian with a smirk forming on his face. "I was just thinking about what I'm gonna do to your mom later."

Ian shook his head and laughed. "One of these days I'm gonna tell her about your sick fantasies," he said.

"You know she'll love it. I'm a huge turn on," Anthony grinned. He was just buying time though, until Ian remembered to have a 'talk' with him.

"Why do I even put up with you?" Ian sighed as he turned away to start making his tea.

Anthony merely shrugged. "I'm the only one who can put up with your shit."

The conversation went quiet as the loud whine of the kettle filled the room. Ian turned his attention back to the counter and started getting some toast ready, oblivious to the fact that Anthony was watching his every move. Anthony knew he was being slightly creepy but he couldn't help staring, or "observing" for a better word. It always amused him when Ian had to stand on his tiptoes to reach the items on the higher shelf, paying special attention to the way his shirt rode up his back and exposed the pale smooth skin. He never missed an opportunity to offer his help when they were standing in that space together, mainly to tease Ian rather than to actually make his life any easier. Ian never seemed to mind though; it would be weird if their friendship didn't consist of constant teasing and digging at each other.

Much to Anthony's disappointment, Ian was just finishing up and he reluctantly turned his eyes back to his own breakfast in order to avoid any awkward eye contact. His cereal had become a colourful mush which didn't look particularly appetising. He stirred the sugary mixture around for a few times before dropping the spoon out of disinterest. Ian's food looked way nicer at that moment in time, even if it was just plain old toast. Ian gave him a strange look as he sat down opposite him. "You're not hungry?"

"My food looks gross and I'm too lazy to get up and find something else," Anthony pushed the bowl towards Ian so he could get a better look at it.

"Eat it faster next time," Ian said and started biting into his own breakfast.

Anthony decided to try his luck. He was hungry after all. "Ian?" he whined, dragging out each letter in the same manner as a child.

"What?" Ian mimicked his tone.

"I'm trying to be a better person and have therefore decided to help you out with your food," Anthony smiled innocently.

"Thanks. It's exactly what I wanted," Ian replied sarcastically but his hand gesture indicated that he didn't mind Anthony stealing a slice of toast.

Anthony quickly reached across the table and grabbed the toast from his plate before Ian could change his mind. Making sure his mouth was full first, he spoke. "You're a good friend Ian."

Ian chuckled momentarily before his face grew serious. "We still need to talk about last night," he said carefully, watching Anthony closely to gauge his reaction. The last thing he wanted was to piss him off again for what felt like the billionth time this week.

However, Anthony's face remained neutral and he continued chewing for a few more seconds before responding. "Yeah, can I have my 3DS back now?" he asked, avoiding the obvious topic.

"You know that's not what I meant," Ian said as calmly as he could. "I was talking about you neglecting the video to go play a stupid video game. It's not fair on everyone else. We can only work as a team if everyone does their bit instead of randomly bailing…I thought you were better than that."

Anthony's eyes widened in shock at Ian's words. He could feel a physical pain settling in his stomach and an unpleasant dryness in his mouth. His heart started pounding against his ribcage, his palms sweating and he could no longer bear to look at his best friend. For the first time in all of their years of knowing each other, Ian was looking down on him. The disappointment on Ian's face hurt him more than he could have ever imagined.

"Anthony, are you okay?" Ian sounded concerned.

"I'm sorry," Anthony whispered and stood up from the table so quickly that he almost knocked over his chair. He barely registered Ian's calls of "Wait! Come back!" as he fled to the safety of his bedroom. Slamming the door shut behind him, he slid down onto the floor and used his bodyweight to prevent Ian from entering.

Ian knocked gently on the door. "Anthony, please don't get mad at me. I just want to help you. I care about you…a lot," he said from behind the door, desperation seeping into his voice.

Anthony clenched his eyes shut and tugged at his hair with trembling hands. He had no idea why he was shaking so much, why he suddenly felt as though he was in immediate danger. It literally felt like there was a bus coming towards him and his brain was yelling at him to jump out of the way. "I'm not mad at you," he said shakily. "I'm mad at myself," he said in a quiet voice, barely audible to his own ears.

He willed his heart to slow down, for his breathing to slow down and his mind to stop racing around like crazy. It was too overwhelming and at that moment, he knew he wouldn't be able to solve this problem on his own. The one person who could possible help him was standing on the other side to the door and he was pushing him away. Anthony slowly shuffled away from the door but remained slumped on the floor. "You can come in now."

Ian didn't hesitate to open the door and was slightly scared to see the state that Anthony was in. His whole body was shaking and his breathing sounded shallow and erratic. Immediately, he crouched down by Anthony's side. "Make it stop Ian," he begged him.

"Make what stop?"

Anthony turned his head to look at him and gripped Ian's shoulder tightly. Blinking rapidly, he tried to find the right words to explain it. "My heart is beating so hard that it hurts…I can't stop shaking…I'm really scared."

Ian bit his lip worriedly as he realised what was most likely happening. It sounded like a panic attack to him. He kept this information to himself for now though, mentioning it when Anthony was at this stage would probably panic him further. "Anthony, listen to me carefully. You need to take deep breaths, slow your breathing down. In through the nose and out through the mouth," Ian demonstrated it to Anthony who then copied his movements.

"That's it," Ian smiled encouragingly. "Don't stop doing that." He knew from past experience that controlling your breathing was the key to getting everything else under control. It allows your heart to slow down and as you get more oxygen, you become less dizzy which allows you to think straight and calm down. Ian put an arm around him and stroked his back comfortingly, feeling great relief as Anthony's shuddering breaths began to slow down.

"You're being really brave," Ian murmured. It was hell having to watch him go through this. Panic attacks are one of the most terrifying things to experience and he wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy.

It must have been about half an hour before Anthony was confident enough to speak. He and Ian were still sitting together on the floor, Ian's arm securely around his waist while he rested his head on Ian's shoulder. He didn't even care if this was breaking some sort of unspoken boundary. He needed him now more than ever. "Ian?" he whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for being here when I needed you," Anthony said, giving him a small smile.

"What are friends for?" Ian smiled back and they remained in a comfortable silence on the floor of Anthony's room, holding each other together.

-x-

Ian watched Anthony carefully over the next week, waiting to see if it happened again. He sincerely hoped it was just a one-off thing; he didn't want his best friend to have to deal with that. Anthony still wasn't fully aware of what had happened; he just assumed he had a breakdown or something and Ian hadn't corrected him. He knew that putting labels on things usually makes situations worse so he decided to only tell Anthony the truth if it happened again. For now though, things were pretty normal between them.

Anthony hadn't really seen Ian much that day. Ever since the horrible breakfast confrontation, he had thrown himself into his editing even more than usual to make up for it. Besides, he couldn't help thinking that Ian felt guilty about what had happened, as though he had been the one to trigger his "episode". Thinking about it, that was partially true but he didn't want Ian to blame himself. Anthony hadn't been thinking about the fact that everyone else was exhausted and had homes to go to. No wonder Ian had been so annoyed with him. Sighing loudly at nothing in particular, he clicked the save button and backed up the video in several different places. There was no way he was taking the chance of losing footage, especially as the video was now complete. Four hours of hard work down the drain. Ain't nobody got time for that. Leaning back in his chair, he stretched his aching limbs whilst basking in the satisfaction of finishing another video. Despite making hundreds of videos over the years, he always got the same feeling when he could finally say it's completed; another thing to cross off his infinite to-do list. He rubbed his tired eyes as he strolled into the kitchen to get himself a drink before turning in for the night. He had hardly eaten anything all day but his stomach hadn't grumbled in protest so he didn't bother. Unsurprisingly, Ian was sprawled out on the sofa watching Regular Show. Anthony had never quite been able to understand why Ian still enjoyed watching Cartoon Network but whatever. Each to their own.

"How's the video coming along?" Ian asked him without turning around.

"Finally done," Anthony sighed with relief. "It looks pretty good."

"I'll watch it tomorrow then," Ian said. Anthony finished getting his glass of water and came over to join Ian on the couch.

Ian was still lying across it and made no attempt to move when Anthony started pointedly at him. "Move it fatass," Anthony nudged him. Ian eventually moved after continuous prodding but showed his obvious discontent by sighing loudly and shuffling around in his seat.

"You don't even like this show," Ian grumbled.

"I like this seat though," Anthony replied.

"We need a new couch," Ian said. They'd had that couch since they first moved in together and it was pretty lumpy and worn.

Anthony shook his head. "No way, man. We're keeping this," he argued. He didn't ever want to get rid of it; the house would look weird without it.

Once the cartoon finally ended, Ian got up to leave. "Hey, where are you going?" Anthony asked him.

Ian frowned slightly. Why did Anthony care? "My room obviously…"

"Wait a second," Anthony said.

"What is it now?" Ian groaned.

Anthony patted the space next to him. "Sit back down first," he told him.

Rolling his eyes, Ian obliged. "I want my 3DS back," Anthony said.

Ian sighed. "Give me one good reason why I should give it back."

"Because you're not the boss of me," came Anthony's childish reply. "I bought it with my money and I'm asking you nicely to give it back."

Ian couldn't help taking delight in Anthony's annoyed expression and decided to wind him up further. "I don't even know if it's in the house anymore. You know I lose things easily."

Ian had to hold back a smirk as Anthony's face contorted into a cross between rage and devastation. "You what?!" he screeched.

"These things happen," Ian shrugged and stood up to go to his room. "I'll find it eventually."

"No," Anthony followed after him. "I need it now and you need to stop fucking around with me."

The moment Ian turned around to face him, Anthony slammed him into the wall, pinning his wrists down by his sides. "O-okay, I think this has gone far enough," Ian chuckled nervously. It seemed that Anthony was taking this much more seriously than he thought he would and he couldn't help being slightly worried.

"You're telling me," Anthony growled, slowly digging his fingernails into Ian's wrists. "Now why don't you give it back and we'll pretend this never happened."

Ian tried his hardest not to cry out but Anthony was pretty strong. "Anthony, please stop. You're hurting me."

A menacing smile flashed across Anthony's face as he loosened his grip. "It's in my pocket and I was gonna give it back to you but only if you stop acting crazy," Ian said, attempting to wriggle from Anthony's grasp and failing.

"I'm not acting crazy. I just want what's mine," Anthony leaned in even closer until their noses were touching. "Are you gonna stand in my way?"

Ian couldn't formulate an answer. He was too distracted by the pair of lips closing in on him as he remained frozen in place, forcing him to close his eyes and just accept what was happening. A brief moment of contact and then they were gone, leaving Ian with the view of Anthony walking away with his 3DS in hand and humming happily to himself.


End file.
